Steady state modeling of desiccant wheels

Desiccant wheels are rotary desiccant dehumidifiers used in air conditioning and drying applications. The modeling of simultaneous heat and mass transfer in these components is crucial for estimating their performances, as well as for simulating and optimizing their implementation in complete systems. A steady state two-dimensional model is formulated and implemented aiming to obtain good accuracy and short computational times. Comparison with experimental data from the literature shows that the model reproduces the physical behavior of desiccant wheels. Mass diffusion in the desiccant should be taken into account in a future version of the model. More experimental data have to be gathered to implement eventual missing phenomena and validate the model for all input parameters.